Return to Campus? Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Abstract

A descriptive research design was employed at a major university, Kennesaw State University, during the Fall 2020 semester to explore how the campus community felt about the cleanliness and safety in the campus environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team consisted of a full-time industrial engineering professor and two senior-level industrial engineering students. Results reveal that the majority of respondents felt a general sense of feeling safe when returning to campus during Fall 2020. The majority respondents had also received their KSU-branded cloth face mask by the time they took the survey. Half of the respondents indicated a feeling that KSU had taken appropriate steps to ensure multiple daily cleanings of high-traffic areas and nearly half of the respondents felt that high-touch surfaces were being cleaned frequently enough to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. Finally, other concerns shared by respondents include changes in stress level, worry, limited student interaction, social distancing issues, poor planning, and distrust of the KSU administration.